High School Football
Monday Morning QB’s
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
As the color commentator for Brunswick High football radio broadcasts for the last 13 years I see good trends and bad trends during football seasons.
A disturbing trend currently is attendance for home football games for our two public high schools in Glynn County.
Currently the two high schools in Glynn County average around 1,000 spectators for a home football game. That is pretty embarrassing for high schools that play in the second highest classification in the state.
Yet, in spite of poor attendance many seem to be an expert on the direction the local programs should take and offer these takes on social media outlets and really have no idea what they are talking about.
Example, I was surfing the internet after Brunswick’s loss to Richmond Hill last week and a nameless expert hiding behind a computer said the program was trash and has been trash since a previous head coach was in charge five years ago.
Here is a nugget of wisdom for this expert, who claims Brunswick wastes so much talent and wants to throw every single head coach under the bus, the school has an all-time football record of 271-274-6. Chew on those facts for a moment, expert.
Brunswick High School has been playing football for 52 years and the historical average is five wins and five losses per season, but yet this expert expects a state title every season. However, won’t give a dime of support, or time to the program.
I’m tempted to name names here but I will refrain. Brunswick High has not played past the second round in the state playoffs since 1999 and has only accomplished that feat twice in its history.
Glynn Academy is in the best run of their football history and you hear people in the community starting to complain about the program but yet 900 people show up to a game on Friday night to support a program that has won over 50 football games over the past five seasons.
What is the deal here people? Prior to the current head coach arriving, Glynn had not won a region title in football since 1972. Now they have won four region titles in a row. Are the GA faithful a spoiled now?
Do local football coaches come to your job and boo you for missing a revenue target? Do they show up at your sales meetings and provide insights to how you should do your job better? Do they show up and yell at your kid at the recreation level when they make a mistake? Do they go on Facebook and say the North Glynn Recreation league Yellow Jackets are trash and need to fire their volunteer coach? Of course, they don’t so why is everyone an expert at football?
Kirby Smart is 37-11 at UGA, yet experts on Facebook say he is a bad coach after a loss.
Did UGA deserve to loss to South Carolina last week? Hell yeah, they did because South Carolina wanted it more on that particular day.
Programs are built through blood, sweat and tears and over time, but it can be destroyed at one family dinner by the most destructive thing in the history of mankind, the tongue. Many a Church sermon has been preached regarding taming the tongue but the lesson never seems to be learned.
When mean-spirited people bad mouth a football program it affects the bottom line for Glynn County Athletics, which depends on football to fund all other sports.
When people don’t attend games, revenue is not generated. Coach Rocky Hidalgo at Glynn told me about three years ago that when people outside the program come to him with coaching suggestions, he gives them a magic marker and tells them to draw it up on the chalkboard. I wonder how long those conversations last.
There are two pretty good head football coaches in Glynn County, and dedicated players who work their behinds off who never walk on a field intending to lose on Friday night.
Give them your support, or like my granddaddy always said “roll up your sleeves and get in the trenches with me, or keep your damn mouth shut”.
The kids in Glynn County community need your support on Friday nights. Will you support them? Wins, losses, style of offense, who is the QB, all of that stuff really doesn’t matter to a true supporter.
Are you all in Glynn County? Your support is needed.
Week 7 Run Down
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Camden @ Colleton: Camden has looked unstoppable so far this year. The Wildcats went into last night’s game undefeated at 6-0 and has only really played one close game all season.
Camden took the trip to South Carolina to take on the Colleton Cougars. The Cougars came into the game 2-3 on the season.
The Wildcats scored on the opening possession on converted on the 2-point conversion for an 8-0 lead. Colleton would answer to make it 6-0. It was all Camden from there. The Wildcats took a 35-6 lead into the half.
Colleton would not be able to get back into the game as Camden kept adding on. The final, Camden 49 Colleton 12. The Wildcats improve to 7-0 on the season.
MCA @ Savannah Country Day: MCA has won 2 of its’ last 3, including a huge upset win over Calvary Day.
The Bucs come in a 2-3 football team but are playing much better than that. MCA took to the road up I-95 to take on the undefeated Savannah Country Day Hornets in a region matchup.
MCA returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead over the Hornets. Country Day answered to tie the game. The Bucs would score before the half to take a 14-7 lead into the locker room. Savannah Country Day evened the game in the 3rd quarter at 14-14.
The Hornets scored 14 unanswered points from that point to win a hard-fought game, 28-14. The Bucs fall to 2-4 on the year.
Brunswick High @ Richmond Hill: In 2018 the Brunswick High Pirates their season 3-3 and then lost all 4 region games to end the season 3-7.
In 2019, the Pirates started their 3-3. BHS kicked off region play against the Richmond Hill Wildcats on the road and were hopeful to not follow the 2018 plan.
The Wildcats almost knocked off Camden a few weeks back and came into this contest a 2-3 football team.
The Pirates took the opening kickoff of the game 80 yards for a touchdown to set the tone. However, the Wildcats would score 35 unanswered points to take a 35-7 lead into the half. The Wildcats would not look back, woodshedding the Pirates, 48-13.
BHS falls to 3-4 and 0-1 in the region.
Statesboro @ Wayne: Region play also starts tonight for Wayne County and Statesboro. The Yellow Jackets came in with a 4-1 mark while the Blue Devils entered the region affair with a 3-2 mark, but have lost back to back games after starting 3-0.
In a defensive struggle in the first half the Yellow Jackets to a 14-7 lead into the half.
Wayne added another TD in the 4th to go up 21-7. That would end up your final. The Yellow Jackets improve to 5-1 and take first place in their region.
Brantley @ Pierce: Everyone was beginning to think Brantley was for real, until they got thumped by MCA last week.
The Herons had a chance to prove their start wasn’t a fluke as they traveled to Blackshear to take in Pierce in the Bear’s Den.
Pierce entered the games undefeated and the class of the region.
Pierce drew first blood early in the first quarter, scoring a touchdown and a 7-0 lead. The Bears would pour it on from there, Pierce took a 42-0 lead into the half and this was a laugher for the Bears. Final 56-7. Brantley drops to 3-3 and Pierce improves to 6-0.
Frederica @ Westfield: Frederica is coming off a 30-28 loss to region foe Pinewood. The Knights lead that game 21-0 at the half, but then got outscored 30-7 in the second half.
Frederica, now 2-3 on the season, found themselves in a must win situation on the road against the Westfield Hornets.
Westfield had lost their first 6 games of the year before beating Trinity Christian last week for a region win.
The Knights found themselves up 16-7 late in the 2nd quarter. The Knights would pull away in the second half, winning the gam3 43-10. The Knights improve to 3-3 on the season and 1-1 in the region.
Southeast Georgia High School Week 5 Round Up
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Week 5 of the high school football season played out last night. Here are the games from around southeast Georgia.
Wayne County @ Appling County: Wayne County left the ranks of the unbeaten last week, going down to Glynn Academy. The Yellow Jackets will renew their rivalry with Appling.
Appling came into this game undefeated.
The Pirates dominated the first half and went into the locker room up 24-7 over the favored Yellow Jackets.
That lead would not last. Wayne County scored the 26 points and knocked Appling from the ranks of the unbeatens, 33-24.
Brunswick @ New Hampstead: Brunswick High is coming off a 48-20 loss to Camden, in a game that should have been closer, but the Pirates could not get out of their own way.
The Pirates took to the road to Pooler in hopes of getting their season back on track against the Phoenix.
New Hampstead scored on 2 turnovers in the first half and returned a kick to get up on the Pirates 19-7 early in the 3rd quarter.
The Pirates would not quit and came all the way back to take a 21-19 lead late in the 4th and would tack on later. Brunswick scored the last 22 points of the game to win 29-19.
The Pirates are now 2-3 on the season.
Calvary Day @ MCA: MCA is coming off their first win of the season, a 32-0 blowout of Jenkins County. The Buccaneers were hoping the momentum would carry over against Calvary Day at The Ship in Darien.
MCA’s defense played great, only down 7-0 at the half.
The Buccaneers kept fighting in the back and forth with Calvary Day. MCA took a 21-20 lead late in the 4th. However, Calvary Day responded to go back up 28-20. That would be the final. MCA falls to 1-3 on the season.
Berrien @ Brantley County: The last time we saw Brantley County on the field they were taking their first loss of the season from Jeff Davis, who was also undefeated at the time.
The Herons hosted Berrien looking to prove they are for real.
Berrien made it difficult for the Herons, taking a 17-7 lead into the half.
That would not last as Brantley battled back and would take down Berrien 31-24.
The Herons record improved to 3-1.
Ware County @ Glynn Academy: A huge rivalry game at Glynn County Stadium, in which Glynn Academy has owned recently. Ware County has looked underwhelming to this point and really needed this win on the road.
The Gators came out on a mission and took a 21-0 lead into the half.
The Terrors offense could never get going against the Ware defense and the Gators got a much needed win to bring their record at 3-2. The Terrors fall to 2-2. The final 35-13 in favor of Ware.
South Effingham @ Pierce County: Both South Effingham and Pierce entered into this game undefeated. South Effingham hasn’t been getting a lot respect despite their perfect record. A win at Pierce would change that.
The Mustangs held their own and went into halftime tied 7-7 with the Bears.
Pierce pulled away in the second half and gave South Effingham their first loss of the year, 42-28. The Mustangs fall to 4-1 and Pierce goes to 5-0.
The Best Of The Best
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The season has been somewhat unpredictable for 7A teams.
Marietta started the season ranked No. 1 in Georgia and they were nationally ranked. They lost at Grayson 28-14 on September 13. The Blue Devils (3-1) had a bye week after that and they play Edgewater (FL) this week. Marietta dropped to No. 4 in the polls.
Grayson (4-0) is the new top team in the state. They beat Westlake 32-21 last week. The Rams trailed 14-7 at halftime but scored three touchdowns in the third quarter.
Lafayette Gurvin rushed for 200 yards and 3 touchdowns and had a fourth TD receiving. They play at Colquitt County this week.
No. 2 McEachern (4-0) beat Collins Hill 30-14. The Indians led 30-0 in the third quarter, and Collins Hill got most of its 220 yards in the fourth quarter.
Jordon Simmons rushed for 73 yards on 12 carries. They have a bye week now but the next game is 10/4 against East Coweta (1-3).
No. 3 Lowndes (5-0) beat Miami Northwestern (FL) 48-21. The Vikings led 35-7 at halftime, held Northwestern to minus-12 yards rushing and routed a team that entered ranked No. 22 nationally in MaxPreps’ Xcellent 25. Northwestern was Florida’s Class 6A champion last season.
Lowndes QB Jacurri Brown rushed for 174 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries. Gary Osby rushed for 83 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries. They play their archrival Valdosta Friday.
No. 5 Colquitt County (3-1) beat Warner Robins at home 31-14.
Jaycee Harden passed for 332 yards and 4 touchdowns, three to Lemeke Brockington.
The Packers lost the game before that at Valdosta 50-49. Colquitt has played an extremely tough schedule before the region play begins. No. 1 Grayson comes to town this Friday for another battle of top teams.
No. 6 Archer (3-1) demolished Norcross 31-0. The Tigers led 10-0 at halftime, then scored three third-quarter touchdowns and shut out Norcross for the second consecutive season.
Archer rushed for 190 yards with no player over 70. This week’s game is at Buford (4-0) and the Wolves are the top ranked team in 5A.
Buford just beat an undefeated 7A team (Newton) 42-14 last week so this is a heavyweight matchup.
No. 7 North Gwinnett (3-1) blew out a good Walton team 35-0. Devin Crosby rushed for 158 yards and 2 touchdowns on 13 carries. Walton was shut out for the first time since 2014 and just the third time this decade.
No. 8 Camden County (5-0) beat Brunswick 48-20. It is impressive to see the Wildcats back in the top 10. Their next game is at Glynn Academy.
No. 9 Hillgrove (4-0) won a close game against Etowah 27-24.
Jose Chaires kicked a 27-yard field goal in overtime after Reuben Lowery got a hand on Etowah’s field-goal attempt in the first OT possession.
The Hawks forced four turnovers and took a 17-7 lead in the third quarter when Jourdan Smith returned a fumble 20 yards for a touchdown.
Garrett Wilds rushed for 86 yards, and Matthew McCravy passed for 242. Their next game is at South Forsyth (3-1).
No. 10 Parkview (2-1) beat Tift County 20-7. Tift County is only 1-4 so this is not impressive.
Cody Brown was held to less than 10 yards rushing in the first half. He finished with 142 and his 92-yard run in the fourth quarter put the game away. The one good team they played is Lowndes and Vikings thrashed the Panthers 38-7.
Week 4 Friday Night Lights
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Week 4 of the High School Football is now in the books and here is what went down in South Georgia.
Wayne County @ Glynn Academy: Both of these teams coming into this game trying to figure out how good they were. The game turned into a track meet with the Red Terrors coming out on top 47-35.
It was the first game Glynn had played since August and the Red Terrors ran the ball at will against Wayne.
The Yellow Jackets scored on big play after big play but in the end could not sustain long drives to keep the Red Terror offense off the field. Glynn goes to 2-1 and Wayne falls to 2-1.
Brunswick High @ Camden County: Camden played a tight game with Richmond Hill the week before, which raised some eyebrows across the state. Brunswick blew out MCA the previous week and this looked to be an interesting game. It ended up not being that interesting.
Camden jumped out to a 14-0 lead, the Pirates answered with a touchdown and it looked like we might have a game with a 14-7 score in the 2nd quarter. That was short lived.
The Camden defense clamped down and the offense went to work. The Wildcats knocked off the Pirates 48-20.
MCA @ Jenkins County: Jenkins came into this game as the favorite to beat winless MCA. Instead the Buccaneers went into to Jenkins and dominated the War Eagles. MCA’s defense was the story, completely shutting down the Jenkins County offense to the tune of a shutout. MCA wins their first game of the year, 32-0.
Augusta Prep @ Frederica Academy: This was the first home game of the year for Frederica.
There is no putting this mildly. This was ugly. Frederica scored on their first play from scrimmage and the rout was on. The Knights ended up putting Augusta Prep on a running clock. The Knights hung 60 on the Cavaliers in a 63-0 laugher.
Corky Kell Classic 2019
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Week 1 of the Georgia high school football season is in the books.
We’re going to take a look at the Corky Kell Classic, which matches up some of the best teams in the state.
Calhoun vs Ridgeland: The Yellow Jackets won big, 38-8 over Ridgeland. Calhoun has won 19 consecutive region titles (2001-18) and they will have another deep playoff run in AAA.
This was the coaching debut for Calhoun’s Clay Stephenson. Jerrian Hames rushed for 177 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries.
Marietta vs Rome: This is a 7A against 5A matchup with both teams ranked in the top five.
The Blue Devils won 48-14. Marietta is the most talented team in the state with 9 seniors ranked in the top 100 prospects in the state. Quarterback Harrison Bailey, a Tennessee commitment, threw 5 touchdown passes.
Five-star tight end Arik Gilbert had 9 receptions for 205 yards and two touchdowns.
Archer @ Tucker: This game was supposed to be played at Coolray Field, home of the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers (formerly Braves). There were thunderstorms Friday that caused this game and the Milton/Buford games to get postponed.
This game was moved to Saturday and Archer, No. 4 in 7A traveled to 6A Tucker. The away Tigers beat the home Tigers, 41-7. Schmari Campbell rushed for 135 yards and a touchdown on 7 carries. Carter Peevy threw for 163 yards.
The Buford vs Milton game is rescheduled for September 6.
Mays vs Kell: This game kicked off the Saturday action at Mercedes Benz Stadium. Mays is led by three-star defensive end JaQuari Wiggles, who is committed to Georgia Tech. The Longhorns from Kell beat the Raiders 17-12 in a hard-fought game.
Walton vs Norcross: Walton is looking to improve on a great 2018 season where they finished 10-2.
Norcross won back-to-back state titles in 2012-13, but they have not had that kind of success in recent years. Walton won 21-20 making this the closest game. Norcross played three quarterbacks, which made the offense struggle at times. The Blue Devils missed two costly field goals.
Colquitt County vs North Gwinnett: This was a rematch of the 2017 7A state title game. The No.2 Packers won 17-6. The Bulldogs held Colquitt Co. to 160 yards of total offense but lost the turnover battle 2-0.
McEachern vs Brookwood: This 7A matchup featured two great programs. The Broncos won seven games last season so I expected them to be a good team in 2019.
The No. 8 McEachern Indians won big, 48-10. Carlos Del Rio-Wilson was 15-of-18 passing for 251 yards and 2 touchdowns. Javon Baker had 5 receptions for 142 yards and a touchdown.
East Coweta vs Mill Creek: The Mill Creek Hawks won eight games in 2018 and advanced to the second round of the playoffs. They lost to the 7A state champs, Milton.
The Indians only won three regular season games but they were all region games. They also advanced to the second round of the playoffs last year.
Mill Creek steamrolled East Coweta, 38-6.
Friday Night Lights Come On
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
High School Football finally kicked off on Friday night. There were several key games from around the area.
Frederica Knights @ Charlton County Indians: The game of the week pitted the defending GISA AAA state champion Frederica Knights against perennial power Charlton County.
The Knights almost knocked off the Indians last season on St. Simons but fell by a touchdown.
This time the Knights headed down to swamp in Folkston and turned the ball over 4 times and could never make that one big play against the Indians defense to get things rolling. Charlton walked away with a 20-7 victory over the Knights.
Rockledge @ Ware County: The Ware County Gators came in with expectations for 2019. However, the Gators dropped their opener at home to Rockledge from Florida 19-7. Rockledge was a 5A semi-finalist in the state Florida last season.
The Jason Strickland era has begun in Ware.
Coffee @ Brunswick: The evening started with the Home Broadcast Booth being dedicated to long time Brunswick High broadcaster, Teddy Bishop. That would be the biggest highlight of the night for Brunswick.
The Coffee County Trojans have dominated the Pirates over the last several years and this game would not end that trend. Coffee went to Glynn County Stadium and put 38 points on the board en route to a 38-21 win over the Pirates.
The Pirates are hoping to rebound from a 3-7 2018 season.
MCA @ Pierce: The MCA Buccaneers scored the first touchdown of the night but it would be the last one they scored. Pierce would score 49 unanswered points to take the win 49-7.
The Bucs did show some signs of improvement. Don’t forget MCA is a rebuilding program.
Camden @ West Forsythe: The Camden County Wildcats beat West Forsythe last season and was hoping for the same result. That result would be accomplished as the Wildcats barraged the Wolverines. The Wildcats put up a touchdown, in what seemed to be every few minutes.
Camden starts off on the right foot downing West Forsythe in impressive fashion 44-6.
Glynn @ Fort Dorchester: The Red Terrors come into the 2019 season with high expectations, but the offense struggled in this contest.
Glynn made the long trip to Charleston, SC and was only able to muster 6 points against Fort Dorchester and went down to the Patriots 31-6.
Camden On The Hunt…Again
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Camden Head Football Coach Bob Sphire enters year three and should start seeing big results from the massive rebuild he started in 2017.
Camden made big strides in year two and have the makings for a fantastic 2019 football season. Look for the Cats to make some noise in Georgia’s highest classification this fall. This is a very good football team folks.
Regular season schedule and my predictions:
08/23 at West Forsyth: Long bus ride for the Cats against a playoff team from last year. Camden won at home last year and they get off to a great start with a 24-17 win over the Wolverines.
08/30 at Wren (Piedmont, SC): Camden plays Wren again in Macon at Mercer University. Camden fell to Wren 25-14 last year, but something tells me that scoreboard will read a little differently this year. The Cats get some redemption by beating Wren 28-17 to go to 2-0 on the season.
09/06 vs Locust Grove: In the home opener for Camden you have Locust Grove rolling in and rolling out with a 35-7 beating. The Cats go to 3-0 on the season.
09/13 vs Richmond Hill: Richmond Hill travels to Chris Gilman Stadium trying to find some offense after losing most of it to graduation. The problem is the offense that graduated only scored 6 on Camden in 2018.
Camden beats down a team that will probably be in their region once the State reclassifies next season. Camden 38-7 to go to 4-0 on the season.
09/20 vs Brunswick: Brunswick High Head Coach, Sean Pender tells me that Camden County is the best team on the Brunswick schedule and that spells trouble for the Pirates. The Cats roll the Pirates 38-20 to go 5-0 on the season.
10/04 at Glynn Academy: The undefeated Cats play the undefeated Terrors at Glynn County Stadium in what should be a great game. Camden will pull out a 24-21 win to go to 6-0 on the season.
10/11 at Colleton County (Walterboro, SC): This one could get ugly in a hurry. Cats win 49-7 to go to 7-0 on the season.
10/18 vs Colquitt County: This will be the biggest home football game in Kingsland in years. The region opener and Colquitt coming in with a new staff, but with top talent.
Could the Cats make a statement here? I think they do and pull out a 24-20 win to go to 8-0 and send a message around the state.
10/25 vs Lowndes: The Vikings roll in for another huge home game for Camden. The Cats go to 2-0 in the region with a hard fought 21-17 win over Lowndes to go to 9-0 and 2-0 in the region.
11/08 at Tift County: The Cats are sky high coming off back to back huge wins at home, and run into a Blue Devil team that has beaten Lowndes and lost to Colquitt in region play.
The Cats fall in a classic 38-34 to go 9-1 and 2-1 in the region. Tift gets great news from Martin Stadium as Lowndes beats Colquitt and Tift wins region championship.
Region 1-AAAAAAA Standings:
Tift: 2-1
Camden: 2-1
Lowndes: 1-2
Colquitt: 1-2
Camden goes 9-1 and finishes with a number #2 playoff seed from region 1.
Opposing Coach View on Camden: “They were down when Bob took that job. Really down. You saw the signs last year that they were starting to get back to being Camden County again.
They have some talent on that football team. Will they get back to what they used to be just a few years ago? I believe they will and are on the right track.
Who will their QB be? They are pretty set everywhere else. I think they have as good of a shot as anyone in their region. They had Lowndes on the ropes at their place last year.
Colquitt has a new coaching staff, and Tift as an at large made it to the third-round last year. They have Colquitt and Lowndes at home. The game at Tift could be for the region championship don’t shake your head because that region is really good and right now with the Colquitt scenario pretty much up for grabs.
Bob is a very good coach and he is in a place where he can win big with the talent pool and resources available.”
Ware Chomping For 2019
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
From 2012-2016, Ware County underwent its best stretch in school history.
During that span, the Gators won four region championships in five seasons and reached a state title game to go along with a semifinal appearance and two trips to the state quarterfinals.
Ware County has remained solid, but the past two years have seen a bit of a tail off. The Gators are hoping that some new coaching blood brings a shot in the arm to the program as Jason Strickland has now set up shop in Waycross.
Strickland’s resume is an impressive one and one that many in South Georgia are already quite familiar with.
Prior to taking the Gators’ head job Strickland notched winning records at Lamar County, Fitzgerald and Pierce County.
He coached four region champions – including at least one at each of his stops – and his next win will be the 100th of his career against just 39 losses to date.
He will inherit a Gator squad that went 8-4 with a second-place finish in Region 2-AAAAA last season.
Ware County took care of everyone it was supposed to, but dropped games to state powers Coffee and Lowndes before falling to Wayne County in the regular season finale to finish second to the Yellow Jackets in region play for a second straight season.
Last year’s Gator squad overachieved with a young roster, meaning that big expectations await this fall.
As far as returning talent goes, Ware County couldn’t ask for more than seeing Thomas Castellanos back in action. Castellanos was a tour de force in his freshman year, winning the starting quarterback job and tossing 11 touchdowns to just five interceptions.
He also led the team with over 800 yards of rushing and even got in on the other end of the passing game, going for 52 yards and a touchdown on his lone reception of the season.
Castellanos will be breaking in a new receiving corps as his top three pass-catchers have departed, but that could be alleviated by an increased emphasis on the ground game. In addition to Castellanos’ ability to run, the Gators return three others who rushed for at least 280 yards in 2018.
Five of the Gators’ top seven tacklers from last year will return to their starting positions and at least one large chunk of the Ware secondary will remain a no-fly zone as Kevin Weatherspoon returns to his safety spot after hauling in five interceptions to go along with six pass deflections and 46 total tackles from a year ago.
Ware County will kick off its season by hosting Rockledge High School out of central Florida. Rematches with larger classification schools Coffee and Lowndes are back on tap and Region 2-AAAAA could easily come down to the final night of the season once again as the Gators play host to Wayne County on Nov. 8.
The Jesup Buzz
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
For the last two seasons, Wayne County has been the undisputed cream of the Region 2-AAAAA crop.
During that span, the Yellow Jackets have rattled off consecutive region championships with unbeaten marks in region play, as well as a 10-0 regular season campaign last fall and a pair of trips to the second round of the state playoffs.
Some tough losses to graduation and a quartet of region rivals that all appear to be on the upswing will make a region three-peat a tall order, but there’s every reason to count Wayne County as a favorite yet again until another school can prove otherwise.
At the helm for each of the last two seasons has been Ken Cribb, who has done an outstanding job of building the Jackets into a region power when things could have easily gone in a different direction.
The Yellow Jackets reached the state semifinals in 2013 and won a region title in 2014 under Jody Grooms, but the program was thrown into flux when Grooms was charged with theft in 2016. After a year under an interim coach, Cribb took over and immediately found success.
Cribb now faces the challenge of replacing many of the players who have paved the way to success recently. Six starters depart from a defense that was mostly good in 2018, but gave up its share of points.
They’ll be tested early and often as tough non-region games against Richmond Hill and Glynn Academy pop up in the first month.
Offensively, the Jackets can rest a bit easier as dual-threat quarterback Shamar Taylor returns for his senior season. Taylor threw for 1,689 yards and 12 touchdowns last fall while rushing for 247 yards and three more touchdowns.
However, Taylor will have to once again be a star as there is plenty of production left to fill in around him.
Running back and 1,000-yard rusher M.J. Fuller is gone from 2018 and Kaliz Hadley is the only Jacket other than Taylor with more than 200 rushing yards back on the roster in 2019.
Primary receiving target Ashby Cribb (60 catches, 748 yards, 5 TD last season) is also gone, leaving Hadley and Trevin Wallace as the only returners to put up considerable receiving numbers last year.
It will be hard for the Yellow Jackets to duplicate the 32.7 points per game that they averaged during the 2018 regular season, but if new faces are able to step up there should still be plenty of scoring in Jesup.
